The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-05-25

There is great pressure being brought
to bear upon the Trustees of the Metropoli-
tan Museum of Art, which hiss suddenly
been enriched by so many gifts of fine
works of art, to throw the building opeu
to the public on Sundays. The argument
most persistently urged Is that to close the
building on Sunday is, practically to close
it entirely to the poor, who have no other
day of leisure on which to visit it, and the
trustees ar invariably denounced as Puri-
tanical. was satisfied that there we're
other good and sufficient reasons for the
action of the trustees, and L asked the di-
rector OF the Museum, General L. 2. Di
Cosnola, what they were. "Ah!" he said,
the writers who urge this do not know the
conditions or purposes of the organization
Of this Museum. 1t Is not public but
private institution. From the day it was
established its founders had plan as grand
and far-reachiDg as it was simple. Their
ambition has been to make it the richest
of American museums. It was originally
intended. and the plan is strictly adhered
to, to have several departments, each
to be under the charge OF schol-
ars specially fitted for their direction.
These will embrace a gallery of ancient
and modern paintings. You see, every
available space on our walls is covered,
yet the Wolfe collection is to be hung, and
we have 100000 worth of paintings In the
basement which the public has had no
opportunity to behold; nor can it have
until the new building is completed. OH
that wont be for a year yet, Then there is
q department for collections of Egyp-
tian, Assyrian, Ph@nicians, Cyprote,
Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Byzantine and
Indian-American art, represented by bas-
reliefs, inscriptions, engraved gems, objects
in gold, silver, bronze, glass, alabaster,
terra Gotta, pottery, coins and so on. The
collection of ancient glass is acknowledged
in Europe to be the richest in existence.
The CesDola collection? How many pieces2
We have 1900 on exhibition and Ii 900
which we have no room at present to dis
play. Yes, next year. Our collection
of Assyrian and Babylonian cylin.
ders is second only to that of the
British Museum. Then we have
collection OF casts, both in metal and in
plaster, Of ali the famous sculptures. One
of our trustees sets apart large sum each
year, out of his private purse, to purchase
these. The basement is stored with speci-
mems we have been years collecting with
out the knowledge of the public. In a
few years this collection of casts, which
the public knows nothing about will be
second to none in the world. Our library,
in due course OF time, will rival that of
the British Museum. We will have art
schools modified on that of South Ken
L
Arts. ALI these departments were origin
fer carrid out not by the city or the gen.
eral public, but by the trustees, at their
own cost. The city does not even pay the
running expenses of the Museum. 1t costs
the trustees fully $4,000 year to run the
establishment. 1t will add fully $40 600
each year to open the Museum on Sunday.
There Is nothing puritanical in the OPP
position of the trustees to the proposition,
but it is asking too much to insist on
opening the Museum on Sunday for the
benefit of the public at the expense of pri-
vate gentlemen whose purses are already
overtaxed. ! am a Catholic. lived all my
youth in European capitols, and visited
museums on Sunday always; so my oppo-
sition is in no sense Puritanical."
General Di Cesnola showed me a collec-
tion of casts, which are stored in the base
ment and hidden, as yet, from public view.
The collection is certainly very large and
varied; but was far more interested in q
collection of some twenty mummies, and
in the beautifully preserved collins In
in which they lay. The engraving and
painting on these collins are as clear and
bright as if completed two days ago in
stead OF 1000 years. On some of them the
inscriptions, giving the names of the dead
are as legible as ordinary printing of the
present day. The public have no knowl-
edge of the existence OF this most interest
ing collection.
/ seem to have unwillingly stirred up
quite breeze among safe. makers, bankers
and others by my allusions in former let
ter to the insecurity of square, lamlnated
safes as now made. hadn't any such in
tention, and beg to so assure several CORE
spondents who have written me in protest,
some going so far as to call me hard names,
such as ''sensationalist" and Anarchist"
find that Frank a. Burr, in the PhiIa-
delphia Times, goes still further than 1
ventured, and describes how any safe with
door can be opened by burglars in half
an hour with kit consisting of vial of
Ditr0.glycerine, piece of putty and per-
eussion cap, all OF which can be carried in
q vest pocket
Hub6elPs Bakers Monthly for April
called attention to this insecurity of safes,
and 1 see by the May number 1t also has
been demonstrated with by bankers who
prefer not to be told that their securities
are not safely lodged in their big safes with
ponderous locks. 1t talks of optical dem
onstration Of the insecurity of safes in
general use Anybody having a safe
can OFFICIALLY demonstrate this for him
self by the use of a little putty
placed on the top of the door. Let him
| then shut the door with as much force as
he likes, and the putty will be untouched
in places, thus showing that the door does
not fit compactly. This space admits fire.
Nitro-glycerine will also triekle through
such space in few minutes, in such guam
titles that, If exploded, will blow of any
door yet made. OF course, il is idle to talk
about the sensationalism of calling atten-
ton to these things. Hubbeps Monthly,
by the way, estimates the number of safe
burglaries in this country at two day.
James H. Beard, the animal and portrait
painter; has just finished a tnree-quarter
| length portrait of General Tecumseh Sher-
man. 1t rather fiatters the old man, but it
| is fine likeness of him as he looked during
the war. 1t is by far the best l have seen
of him, and ought to be in the War Depart
ment at Washington, or in the Military
| Academy at West Point Sherman was
lately applied to by the superintendent of
West Point to sit for a portrait, but re-
fused, saying he would sit no more for
any purpose. The Military Academy should
certainly secure q copy Of this portrait by
Beard.
Mr.. George f. Kunz, the mineralegist of
Messrs. Tiffany 81 Co., whom mentioned
| some time ago as an extensive buyer OF
meteor1tes, read a curious paper on meteors
/ before the Academy of Sciences recently.
Somebody who had seen my paragraph an
/ nouncing that Mr.. KuDZ was in the mar
ket for these articles, sent him one, which
was seen to fall only few months ago III
| vEoraae ua;ohad 1071Z n0npdo aud